The 12 Most Inspiring Sports Moments of 2012

When we think of “inspirational” in sports, it can mean a number of things. There are the tear-jerking moments that are built for a Hollywood script, feats that have never been accomplished before, and athletes overcoming years of struggle to finally achieve greatness.

These are the moments that make you leap off your couch when you see them live, or obsessively share a YouTube video the next day at work. As sports fans, it’s why we watch hundreds of meaningless games each year, just waiting for that one moment you’ll remember for years.

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As part of our continuing year-end coverage, here are the 12 most inspiring sports moments of 2012.

1. The King Is Finally Crowned It took nine seasons, a move from Cleveland to South Beach, and dealing with a year of public scrutiny before LeBron James could accept the rightful place on his throne. Sure, the recently named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year punctuated a Game 5 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder with a triple double, but what’s impressive isn’t the MVP awards and Olympic gold medal—it’s how he dealt with all the hate from his move and became the face of the league again. Now we all wait to see if he can really live up to winning “not one, not two, not three . . ." NBA Championships.

2. Murray Wins at Home No, he didn’t win Wimbledon, but Brit Andy Murray came back 4 weeks later to crush Roger Federer—probably the best tennis player of all time—in a rematch on Centre Court at the London Olympics. Basking in the adulation of the home crowd, Murray called the victory “the biggest win of my life.”

3. Greenberg Gets His At-Bat He may not be making an All-Star Game any time soon, but Adam Greenberg knows how to stick to a career goal. Back in 2005, the Chicago Cubs prospect was pegged in the head by a 92 mph fastball—before he even had a chance to swing and record an official MLB at-bat. Seven years later, after dealing with post-concussion syndrome and positional vertigo, Greenberg had his chance to step between the chalk for the Miami Marlins. He didn’t get on base, but at least he went down swinging. (Read Greenberg's full story here.)

4. Alex Morgan Breaks Through She isn't just one of the Sexiest Female Athletes in the world—she's the next soccer superstar, too. Alex Morgan's game-winning header in the last minute of stoppage time against Canada put the U.S. women’s soccer team into the gold medal game against Japan—which they won 2-1. But that header capped off an intense, back-and-forth encounter with our neighbors to the North that might have been the best contest of the Summer Games.

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5. The Coach Comes Back First-year Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia just weeks into the 2012 season, rendering him to a hospital bed instead of the sidelines. When he attended his first game after a November 4 victory over the Miami Dolphins while still undergoing treatment, he gave this incredible speech. We guarantee you’ll want to run through a brick wall after hearing it again.

6. Lin Jumps from the Couch to the Garden If the word “Linsanity” didn’t escape your lips during two glorious weeks in February, you were living in a bunker. Jeremy Lin—the underdog, Asian-American, Harvard graduate who was living on his brother’s couch—single-handedly made the New York Knicks relevant last spring. Though he now plays for the Houston Rockets, we’ll always remember when no net was safe from his jumper. Click here for Jeremy Lin's Success Secrets.

7. Oscar Overcomes Obstacles He’s known as the Blade Runner, and he’s faster than most men with two working legs. Oscar Pistorius—the double below-the-knee amputee who runs on two prosthetic legs—competed in the 400 and 4x400 races for South Africa in London. While he didn’t medal, his story provides inspiration for people across the globe with disabilities. (Check out Pistorius's Rules of Running.)

8. Usain Bolts Through the History Books Blink and you missed him. Not even an NBC tape delay kept eyeballs from tuning in to what was a world-class field in the Olympic 100-meter showdown that Usain Bolt won and capped off with his unique celebratory style. The Jamaican sprinter garnered another three gold medals in London, winning the 200, 4x100 relay for Jamaica, and the 100 in an Olympic record time of 9.63 seconds. No man has ever done that two Olympics in a row.

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9. Te’o Plays Through Loss Within a matter of days, Manti Te'o lost his grandmother to old age and his girlfriend to a long bout with leukemia, yet on September 15, the Notre Dame linebacker took the field against Michigan State and led college football’s best defense to victory with 12 tackles. Unless you were a diehard Irish fan or football junkie, you didn't know Te'o yet—but his beastly performance that day was the start of his star-making, storybook 2012 season.

10. Sparks Coaches Through CancerHere's a smaller story you might have missed: Ken Sparks, the head football coach of Division II Carson-Newman University, became only the 11th man in college football to record 300 career wins this season. Oh, and he did it after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in June. “The Lord called me to coach," Sparks said before the season about forgoing treatment until after the season. "He'll let me know when it's time not to coach.” That dedication helped him lead Carson-Newman to a 9-3 season and a Division II Playoff berth.

11. Phelps Grabs the Gold (Again) What does Michael Phelps do with all his gold medals? We bet he’d make a killing at one of those Pay 4 Gold places. Nonetheless, he swam his final event in the 4x100 relay at the Summer Games and captured his 18th gold, for a total of 22 medals in his career. He left London as the most decorated Olympic athlete of ever—so naturally, we ranked him #1 on our list of The Fittest Men of All Time.

12. The Americans Find Redemption It took speed, teamwork, and determination (not to mention perfect hand-offs) for the U.S. women’s 4x100 meter relay team to smash a 27-year-old East German record. Carmelita Jeter, Alyson Felix, Tianna Madison, and Bianca Knight crossed the tape in a blistering 40.82 seconds, just ahead of Jamaica, and erased any memories of dropping the baton in the 2008 games.

Brian DalekDirector of Content OperationsBrian has spent the last 10 years focused on creating compelling news, health, and fitness content—with a particular interest on enthusiast activities like running and cycling.

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